Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum yesterday won the men’s London Marathon in the second-fastest time in history, while the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan staged a remarkable rally to win the women’s event in the Olympic track champion’s first race over the distance.
Twenty-three-year-old Kiptum broke the course record with an astonishing time of 2 hours, 1 minute, 25 seconds.
Having broken clear of the field, Kiptum — who became the third-fastest male marathon runner of all time on his debut in Valencia in December last year — faded toward the finish and missed Eliud Kipchoge’s world record by 18 seconds.
Photo: Reuters
“I am so happy with the result,” Kiptum said. “I don’t know what to say right now, I am just grateful.”
Geoffrey Kamworor made it a Kenyan one-two, finishing second in 2:04.23, with Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola third in 2:04.59.
British distance great Mo Farah, competing in his last marathon before retiring, finished ninth in 2:10.28.
Photo: Reuters
Earlier, it looked as if 30-year-old Hassan’s debut marathon would end in disappointment.
The 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic gold medalist from the COVID-19-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games had been in the leading group, but dropped back and was holding her side after the hour mark.
It would have been impressive enough had the Ethiopian-born Dutch runner — a Muslim who had been fasting due to Ramadan — simply completed the course on the rainswept streets of the British capital, as she then grabbed her hip and stopped to stretch off the injury.
However, Hassan recovered to rejoin the leaders with 4.8km to go.
Despite making a mess of collecting a drink from a water station, she recovered and even offered rival Yalemzerf Yehualaw, last year’s winner, a swig from her bottle.
Hassan then burst clear in a sprint finish to win in a time of 2:18.33.
Kenya’s Alemu Megertu was second in 2:18.37, with compatriot and Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir third in 2:18.38.
This was the first time Jepchirchir had been defeated in a major marathon race.
“It was just amazing. I never thought I would finish a marathon and here I am winning it,” Hassan told the BBC.
“I had a problem with my hip, which made me stop, but it started to feel a little bit better and then I missed one of the drinks stations,” she said. “I didn’t practice that part of the race because I have been fasting.”
“At 20km I knew that I could kick on, because I didn’t feel that tired and I didn’t care how I finished, I just wanted to get there,” Hassan said. “I wasn’t thinking about winning or how fast I was going to be, and I think that was a good thing for me today.”
Marcel Hug won a fifth men’s wheelchair race in London, just six days after winning the Boston Marathon, with the Swiss star shattering his own course record in a time of 1:23.43.
Australia’s Madison de Rozario, the 2018 champion, won the women’s wheelchair race, edging out four-time champion Manuela Schar in a sprint finish.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS